


Good Intentions

by SimmeringSun (orphan_account)



Category: Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Aftermath of Torture, All of the stories connect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Guilt, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Post Robobot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 19:04:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13864044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SimmeringSun
Summary: The aftermath of the invasion by Haltmann affects everyone. Kirby helps.Or 5 times Kirby cheered someone up and one time he got cheered up.





	1. Brave and Strong

It was all over: that is what everyone had told him. But if it was all over, then why did those memories run fresh through his mind? Why couldn’t he look at his reflection without fear and shame churning in his gut?

They all had surely noticed how the knight had been reduced to a fine dust after the torment of Susie and Haltmann, and yet they still gave those forced smiles. 

The only one that didn’t give him that smile that was all tense muscles and not enough truth was Kirby. The child would stare at Meta Knight, face pale and mouth in a straight line. 

The first time he visited Meta Knight all he did was cry. A silent, trembling cry that made Meta Knight feel like he couldn’t breathe.

“I’m sorry.”, The knight said, guilty for being forced to fight the child in his mechanized form. And that was the only words exchanged between the two for a month.

Meta Knight would be in his room alone in a potion of the castle not heavily damaged with only his thoughts. He would stare at the ceiling and curse himself for how awful he felt while people whispered outside the door. There was always whispering; hushed but loud. Meta Knight felt certain he knew what they were about. He felt certain that his friends were all tired of him.

Meta Knight had always been one to hold a brave face, but here he was now, afraid of his own mind and reflection. So one day he got up and resumed his guard duties.

“Ya don’ have to do this ya know.”, Dedede told him straight away. “I’m glad you’re outside now but ya don’t need to be doin any work.”

“I am a knight my liege, a head knight. I cannot lay down all day uselessly because I got injured over a month ago.”, Meta Knight said. He didn’t understand. Didn’t they want him to go on with his duties already? 

“Meta Knight. You weren’t just injured..”, Dedede says and Meta Knights begs silently for him not to say that word. “You were tortured for gods sake.”

Meta Knight’s fist clench at the word. Torture. The word that’s popped up in his mind so many times over the last month. In his mind he refused to come to terms with the word, always pushing it to the back. He didn’t know what to do with it when it was there out in the open; floating and waiting to be acknowledged.

So Meta Knight did the thing he did best. He ignored it and walked away.

After the encounter, he decided to show everyone that he was fine. He had a meeting with the Meta Knights and made plans to fix the remaining damages on the Halberd and to possibly reinforce it’s weaponry.. He trained and perfected his moves to catch up with that month. He even helped in the rebuilding of the castle. So why did Dedede still give him that forced smile?

It was a night where the cloud covered the stars where he came to a conclusion: he wasn’t doing enough.

Determined to show Dedede just how fine he was, he doubled his efforts in everything he did. He worked until close to exhaustion on the Halberd and the castle. He kept away hose plaguing memories of sickening laughs and excruciating pain by training until his arms ached. But still, that fake smile appeared.

It was all too much, and it was all too damned silly. So he cried. He sat on that hill and looked at those clouded stars and he cried because everything was all too much. Meta Knight never believed that wires and a cursed girl with pink hair could ruin him so much but there he was.

He was so caught up with his crying and thoughts that he didn’t hear the soft hesitant steps inching their way behind him.

“Meta Knight.”, a voice said.

The knight turned around and came face to face with yet another thing he’s been pushing to the back of his mind. Kirby.

“I’m sorry.”, The knight said. “Kirby, I’m so so sorry.”, The knight said as the tears trailed on behind his mask. Meta Knight couldn’t tell if Kirby could tell if he were crying or not but that didn’t matter, because Kirby was finally talking to him again.

“Don’t say sorry. Stop saying sorry. You did nothing wrong.”, Kirby said as he sat down next to the knight and held back his own tears.

“How can I not? I hurt you yet again Kirby. I couldn’t even resist what they did to me.”, Meta Knight said.

“That was not your fault!”, Kirby yelled. “Why? Why do you think it’s your fault? You did so good Meta Knight.”

“Kirby..”, Meta Knight said in shock. It was rare to see Kirby so angry. Kirby’s face softened.

“You’ve always been so brave. So brave and strong Meta Knight.”, Kirby says. “And nothing has changed.”

Meta Knight choked out a sob and Kirby said nothing. The two of them watch the unclouded stars.


	2. Valuable Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dedede feels like he doesn't do anything helpful for Dreamland.

As the king of Dreamland, it was his job to protect the land and its people. Yes, he might have made some voluntary mistakes in the past but he learned to really love and respect his land. But even then, mistakes still kept piling up.

He failed to prevent Kirby from summoning Nightmare, he got possessed by Dark Matter twice and got kidnapped by Taranza and got influenced to fight Kirby. His most recent mistake made was doing nothing while his land got invaded.

What do you say to two people you have failed? That’s the first question that came to his mind when he woke up among the rubble of his broken home and saw an exhausted Kirby and a Meta Knight already on his way to go fight danger once more.

“Is he ok? What happened?”, Dedede asked as he rubbed his aching head. He managed to get crushed by the rubble of his castle.

“They invaded but I put a stop to it.”, Kirby responded. “Meta Knight is going to fight the remaining Haltmann soldiers.”

“Huh.”, Dedede said. He really missed a lot didn’t he? “Are ya and Meta alright?”

“I’m-”, Kirby started but then stopped. His smile dropped. “They put wires in him. Wires and metal and bolts. And they forced him to fight.”

Dedede’s mind froze at those words.

“They what?”, the king asked, hoping it was some sort of sick joke. But Kirby looked at him solemnly. Kirby, the one who always smiles and hopes. “Why is he fighting then? He surely must be hurt.”

“It had to be done. I’m too tired to do it. Meta Knight can do it. It will be ok. It will all be ok.”, Kirby said with a strained smile and Dedede wasn’t sure who the puffball was trying to convince.

“Yeah of course he’ll be alright. He’s Meta Knight after all.”, Dedede said. And the two of them sat upon the pile of rubble and hoped.

After two worrying nights, the knight came back on the Halberd with the Meta Knights in tow.

“Meta Knight!”, Dedede yelled with glee as he ran up to the ship. Kirby followed behind with a relieved smile.

Their smiles fell when the knight came into view.

He gripped to the rail as he made his way down, scars littering so much of his body. They almost looked like stars on a dark blue sky. 

“My liege.”, The knight said as he quickly took his hand off the rail. He was shaking slightly.

“Ya need a doctor. Right now.”, Dedede managed to say through his shock.

“No.”, Meta Knight said. “I’m fine..I just need some rest. Just some rest.” 

And with those words, the knight collapsed.

Everyone rushed forth to help him, King Dedede picking him up off the ground and Bandana Dee calling for the doctor. After some initial chaos, the knight was in a room with a doctor checking over his injuries.

The king didn’t know how to explain it, but it felt like he was in mourning. That knight that always stood so proud and tall had collapsed before him. And it was all of his fault.

“How is he doc?”, Dedede asked the doctor.

“He should recover. He just collapsed from exhaustion right now. But there were so many scars..he’ll surely be suffering mentally from all that pain.”, The doctor said sadly.

Dedede swallowed at those words

“What can I do to help?”

“He might be bedridden for weeks. You can come visit him, but don’t force him to talk. This is a delicate process.”, The doctor said.  
“Ok, I can do that. I’ll make sure he recovers in no time.”, Dedede says with a nod. The least he could do for the night was to be there.

So for the next week, Dedede sat on the bedside chair.

There was mostly silence on the knight’s part but Dedede would always break the silence and talk about the rebuilding efforts on the castle or how everyone was ok. And he would always smile, even if he had to force one.

“You don’t have to stay here my liege.”, The knight would say. “You don’t have to shirk your duties because of me.”

“Nonsense!”, Dedede would reply. “One of my duties is to make sure everyone in Dreamland is doin alright, and that includes you.”

But Meta Knight wasn’t doing alright at all. Dedede would walk in sometimes and find the knight in the clutches of a nightmare, the knight crying in his sleep. It shattered Dedede’s heart over and over again. He had never seen the knight cry. But he’d still sit at the bedside and smile when Meta Knight woke up.

It wasn’t until the second week when Dedede noticed not only was there something wrong with the knight, but also Kirby.

The puffball only visited the knight three times, and during those visits he did nothing but cry.

“Ya should talk to him.”, Dedede told the puffball.

“No. There is nothing to talk about.”, Kirby said and it made chills run down his spine because it sounded like something Meta Knight would always say.

After the third week, the knight came out of his room. Dedede of course fussed over the knight, not wanting him to strain himself.

“I am a knight my liege, a head knight. I cannot lay down all day uselessly because I got injured over a month ago.”, The knight had told Dedede. Was that what the knight thought? That this was just another injury? He had already done so much for the safety of Dreamland and here he was trying to do more. It made Dedede feel awful because he believed he has done nothing to help Dreamland.

“Meta Knight. You weren’t just injured..”, Dedede said and he saw Meta Knight tense up, he should’ve notice Meta Knight tense up. “You were tortured for gods sake.”

The knight physically recoils at this, and before he could say anything more the knight was walking away.

“There is nothing to talk about.”: Those awful words seemed to float in that tense silence.

But oh there was so much that needed to be said, and that is what Dedede had come to realize as he watched the knight do his best in the rebuilding efforts. But Dedede didn’t know how to say those words without making the knight upset, so he just continued to offer that same smile and saying those same words.

He watched the knight work himself close to exhaustion and he felt silly. He was a king that did nothing for his kingdom.

It wasn’t until one night when Kirby tugged at the bottom of his coat to get the King’s attention that he realized how not ok things were.

“Dedede.”, Kirby said. He wasn’t smiling. “Why aren’t you talking to Meta Knight?”

The king was confused by those words. 

“Why, I talk to Meta everyday! I should be askin you the same question.”, Dedede said.

“No, you’re not talking to him. You just keep smiling and saying the same things. That’s not talking, I don’t think.”, Kirby said with a frown.

The king choked at those words, words getting stuck in his throat before he coughed and said, “Meta Knight doesn’t need any negative talkin right now Kirby. He’s still recoverin.”

“But how is he supposed to recover when no one is talking to him? I know that when I’m sad I keep feeling bad until someone talks to me. And if I get food.”, Kirby says as he rubs his tummy.

“Well, I..”, Dedede trails off. Here it goes. “How am I supposed to talk to ya guys about that stuff when I wasn’t even there to help y’all? I just sat here uselessly while you guys did all the defendin’.”

“Dedede..”, Kirby said with a smile. “You were knocked out! I was scared you were seriously hurt! It’s ok that you weren’t there. It’s ok that you might not have helped with the fighting at the end. But your people look up to you and need you. And we all know that you would have been there if you could!”

“Kirby..”

“So thank you Dedede.”, Kirby said with a smile.

“I should be thankin ya, ya cheesy sop.”, Dedede said and he smiled a genuine smile.

“Hehe, that’s me. Speaking of cheese, I’m pretty hungry.”, Kirby said thoughtfully.

Dedede laughs a bit at the child’s words. He looked up at the hill in the distance and saw the familiar outline of the knight.

“I know. I’ll go talk to him first.”, Kirby said as he followed Dedede’s line of vision. “But you have to talk to him soon ok!”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”, the king says. 

With a wave, Kirby makes his way up to the hill and Dedede looks around at his kingdom. He’d always try his best to protect it for sure.


End file.
